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Sobering Save
Location: Mountain Center, California Date: September 30, 1990 Story On September 30, 1990, in Mountain Center, California, Jody Woods was on her way home in her pickup truck on Route 74. She was drinking earlier that night and was two times over the legal limit. She lost control of her truck, slipped off of the road, and crashed head on into a rock outcropping 100 yards from the Mountain Center Ranger Station. Her truck sparked and caught fire as it hit and her legs got caught under the dashboard, trapping her inside. At the station, Randy Higgins and his brother, Scott, had just come home. "We heard a crash, so we just slipped on our shoes, grabbed a flashlight, and ran outdoors," explained Randy. The Higgins' neighbor, park ranger Ed Silas, had also heard the crash and ran outside to meet them. "Did you two hear that?" he asked. "Yeah, it sounded bad," they said. Then the three raced up to the top of the hill to Jody's truck, but as they approached it, it jumped into flames. Ed ran back to the station to get a fire extinguisher, and Scott also ran off to call 911. Randy then looked in the truck and found Jody lying between the dashboard and the bench seat; he tried to open the driver's side door, but due to the collision, it was stuck. Panic started to set in, because he thought he wouldn't be able to save her. At 11:54pm, Scott's call came into 911, and Riverside County Fire and Rescue was immediately dispatched. Meanwhile, Randy had gotten access inside the truck by opening one of the back passenger side doors, but he was scared that the flames would flash through all of the cab. However, determined to save Jody, he grabbed her and pulled her away about 30 or 40 feet from the truck. "I reached down to feel if she was breathing, which she was at that point," he explained. She then started to talk about her son, Eddie, and Randy thought he was still in the truck; he ran back to take a look inside, but by then, it was largely engulfed in flames, so there was no going back. Campers that were staying in the park started to gather at the collision's scene. As Jody groaned for someone to call her mother, Randy tried to comfort her and treat her injuries; then Ed came back with the fire extinguisher, but it was too late. All of the truck was burning and could not be put out until the fire department arrived. Ed yelled for Randy, who called back and told him to come over to see that Jody was alive. "It was obvious that she'd been burned real bad. Both of her legs had signs of severe burns, and one of her ankles was broken," said Randy, so his thought was to keep her still until the rescuers arrived. As Ed remembers, she was calling for Eddie, who he thought was still with her, so he turned around and ran up the road to see if any children or other vehicles were involved. He found none, so he told some of the campers to search for Jody's husband, Daryl, and Eddie. It was later found that they were safe at home when the police called about the accident. When the first rescuers arrived (including paramedic Brian Moore), they noticed Jody's burning truck against the rock with flames that reached over 15 feet high. They also saw Jody laying the ground and being treated, and Moore was very shocked that she was still living, even though he'd seen the flames and the debris that surrounded the accident. "The gas tanks were leaking, so you could see gas dripping out of the truck," he remembers. Also, when Jody had crashed, she hit a power pole and the flames were starting to consume it, so Moore's basic concern was to move her away from the gas leak and the power lines as quickly as the paramedics could. As they placed her on a stretcher and took her to the ambulance, the firefighters put out the fire in the truck, which took less than five minutes. As the paramedics placed Jody in the ambulance, Moore remembers that they could smell alcohol on her breath, and she was saying, "I'm so sorry. I've made a huge mistake!" As the ambulance drove away, Randy was relieved that she'd be cared for in the hospital, but he still couldn't tell if she was going to make it. In the ambulance, Moore saw that Jody had a big amount of burns over her body, complained about pain in her abdomen, and asked questions that resembled someone with a head injury. Their nearest burn center was 2 1/2 hours away, so air transport was the only other option. One of the paramedics called for a helicopter to meet the ambulance in a nearby parking lot. Jody's mother, Marilyn Saban, was also called. Her friend, Jill, whose husband is a volunteer fireman, told her about Jody's accident, and because it was a terrible situation, she feared for the worst. When Marilyn reached the ambulance, she ran up to it to see Jody through the back window, so she pounded on it to ask if she could come in. Moore told her that she'd have to be very calm if she wanted to, she took some deep breaths. After calming down, Marilyn went inside to see Jody's face, which looked very pale. Jody's broken ankle was also sticking out, her forehead was bleeding, and she began to cry that she was sorry about what had happened. "She was also saying, 'Please hold me. Just touch me somewhere,'" explained Marilyn. Jody was also scared that she wouldn't be alive again. As the helicopter arrived at the parking lot, Jody was taken out of the ambulance by the paramedics. "For a parent, it's just terrifying. I kept thinking, 'Don't let her be hurt too bad until we can bring her someplace to help her,'" remembers Marilyn. There was no room for her in the helicopter, so she could only watch as Jody was taken away. "She had a waxy look to her and I'd just known she could die. I didn't want to not be able to tell her that I loved her before anything would happen," explained Marilyn. At the hospital, Jody was treated for second and third-degree burns. She also underwent surgery to fix her broken ankle. Seven weeks later, she was allowed to go home to her family. "I can't imagine life without Jody. She's my wife, she's very special to me, and we're a very close family," explained Daryl. "She's an excellent mother and has taught me patience and kindness with Eddie that I wouldn't know." Today, Jody admits that drunk driving is the hardest for her to deal with. She feels awful and selfish that she took a chance at hurting so many people. "I'm so glad that such people as Randy were around," she adds. She also swore that she would never drive under the influence again. Later, Jody and her family thanked Randy in person. "I just couldn't believe that he was able to get into that blazing vehicle and pull her out," remembers Marilyn. "I was the first one at the scene. It's as if you walk up to a situation where someone needs your help and can't help themselves. You know, I just had to do it," said Randy. "Randy is responsible for saving my life, but I'm responsible for almost losing it. I got a second chance to try again, which was a bit fortunate," explained Jody. "We've gone through some problems, but she's back to her old self. She's very glad to be alive, and I'm happy to have her around," finished Daryl. Jody later became a safety council speaker, and talks with other DWI victims featured on Rescue 911 that warn people about drunk driving. Category:1990 Category:California Category:Motor-Vehicle Accidents Category:Head Traumas Category:Crush Injuries Category:Fires Category:DUI's Category:Burns